A sigh of relief washed over her as the students were safe, but her expression soon turned serious as she noticed the man with ck hair jumping down the fountain.


    Then, as if to add more problems for her, the assassin that had taken the life of Connor had also survived the explosion, albeit half of his body had burnt due to excessive heat and was healing quickly.


    "Hah... hah..."


    Taking deep breaths, Sophia strengthened her posture, ready to face them.


    ’I can deal with them.’ She thought, reassuring herself as she gathered the remaining mana.


    ’I need to just hold on until the rest of the teachers arrive with the knights.’ With that as the basis of her n, she fixed her gaze towards the two of them.


    *p p*


    The masked man pped again, drawing attention towards him, and instinctively, Sophia’s expression hardened, fearing another explosion might happen.


    "You survived that!" The masked man with ck hair eximed, "and even saved every single student as well. You truly are admirable, Lady Sophia."


    "Who are you?" Sophia asked, going along with his talk.


    Her gaze then moved towards the assassin and by his behaviour and the way he is on gaurd against the masked person she could guess that they are not in the same side.


    ’Worst case I had to fight both of them.’ she that thoughte to her mind she took another deep breath to m her mind.


    "I am just a nobody," he replied, shrugging his shoulders, "and shouldn’t there be a better question to ask, like how are you going to deal with them."


    As if waiting for his words another group of assants started to emerge form the debris with simr outfit as the masked man.


    "Fuck.." a curse involuntary escaped her lips as she found herself in this particr situation.


    As if waiting for his words, another group of assants started to emerge from the debris, wearing simr outfits to the masked man.


    "Fuck..." a curse involuntarily escaped her lips as she found herself in this particr situation.


    "What’s going on?"


    "I can’t hear! I can’t!"


    "Stop shouting!"


    As the students woke up from the aftermath of the explosion shock, their confusion soon turned into fear as they found another group of assants ready to attack them.


    Half of assants again started to run towards the students while have stayed in there ce casting spells from behind, and once again, Sophia tried to form a wind shield to protect the students who were supposed to be attacked first.


    "You should be focusing here." As Sophia tried to intervene in the attack, the masked man quickly arrived in front of her, his de-like w right in front of her face.


    "Argh!"


    Jerking her head backward, she tried to dodge the attack, but the w still managed to cut her right cheek.


    Blood tickled down her cheek but her attention was forced to move towards the students.


    Blood tickled down her cheek but her attention was forced to move towards the students but she couldn’t focus because —


    "Eyes here!"


    With a menacing voice the masked man quickly tried to attack her but Sophia quickly used mana to quickly make a distance between them.


    Being a mage her weak point has always been closebat and creating a distance was the first priority for her.


    "AHHHH!"


    A scream resonated throughout the area as one of the assants managed to behead one of the students marking the first death of the students.


    "No!" Sophia tried to intervene again, but she still was having a hard time herself.


    "Angelina!" As the battle between Sophia and the masked man started in earnest, Aeloria shouted.


    "I know!" Replied Angelina as she took out her short sword, as assants were now targeting them.


    With a swift movement, Angelina arrived in front of the group as she took the role of vanguard, with Emily beside her.


    "Can you fight?" Aeloria asked Emily, who was standing in front of her.


    "My specialty is hand-to-handbat, so don’t worry about me," she replied as she took her battle stance.


    Aeloria nodded as she looked towards the chocte-colored girl Fatima, who was beside her, still trying to understand the situation happening around her. "From earth spikes the moment theye close enough, I will protect you."


    Fatima nodded as she knelt down, touching the ground below.


    "I know what I need to do." Before Aeloria could instruct anything to Grace, she firmly replied without looking at her.


    Aeloria silently nodded her head as she circted spirit energy in her body.


    "Blessing of spring," she mumbled, and a translucent aura enveloped all four of them, increasing their physical strength and mana cirction.


    As the first assants lunged forward, Angelina smoothly parried the attack with her short sword, creating an opening for Emily.


    With a swift, well-timed maneuver, Emily dodged past Angelina and delivered a precise strike, breaking the nose of the first enemy and incapacitating him.


    The remaining adversaries, undeterred, closed in.


    Angelina, with her sword, parried the enemy attack.


    Meanwhile, Emily seamlessly disyed powerful maneuvers and strikes, ensuring the enemies were kept off bnce.


    Angelina and Emily executed a coordinated assault.


    Angelina disarmed her opponent with a swift twist of her short sword, creating an opening for Emily to incapacitate the second adversary with a well-ced strike at his throat.


    "Fuck..."


    As the third enemy attempted a retreat, arge spike passed through both his thighs, making him unable to move.


    Closing in, Emily delivered a powerful punch breaking his jaw knocking him down.


    Meanwhile, as two assants tried to attack Grace, she quickly took her battle stance.


    Her blood-red eyes ignited, changing their color to a dark ck that tried to consume light itself.


    In an instant, mes danced around her, cloaking her entire body.


    The first assant, drunken by arrogance, attempted an attack. Grace, however, responded with a mere flick of her fingers.


    The dark mes surged forward, manifesting tendrils that coiled around the assant.


    "Burn," she mumbled, and as she did, the mes ignited with more vitality, starting to burn the man alive.


    "ARGHHH!!"


    A burning smell passed around in the air as the man was getting burned alive.


    The second assant, sensing an opportunity, pressed forward.


    Grace, the mes flickering in response to her will, conjured a barrier that absorbed the onught of the attack.


    With a focused gaze, she directed the dark mes towards the remaining adversary.


    The mes twisted and contorted, forming an indomitable force that engulfed the assant, burning him alive.


    "Damn, was it necessary to kill them?" Aeloria asked as she watched them getting burned, but she wasn’t one toin as a headless body sprawled right in front of her.


    "Why are you so good?" Angelina, frowning, couldn’t help but ask Emily.


    She had been getting training for years to protect herself, but as far as she remembered, Emily was just a normalmoner without anything special about her family.


    To Angelina’s question, Emily just gave a simple smile without replying.


    Not getting a reply, Angelina shifted her focus towards the other students.


    Most of them were having a hard time defending themselves, while a few of them were fighting with the best of their capability.


    "Aron, huh?" She mumbled as her gaze fixed on the red-haired boy who was defending himself and the girl behind him against the assants.


    "Her name is Nora, right?" Aeloria mumbled as she reached out to Angelina, her gaze also fixed on them.


    "We should help others as well—"


    "BOOOOM!"


    Before Angelina could finish her words , arge explosion urred, but this time it came from a different direction.


    "What’s happening there?" Angelina asked as she looked towards the sky, where a cluster of white mes was formed in the air.


    "Teacher Geilna!" One of the students shouted as they saw Geilnaing in their direction with a few guards.


    The students, who were desperately trying to defend themselves, saw a ray of hope in her.


    Geilna quickly joined Sophia as they were in a settlement until she arrived.


    While the guards swiftly moved towards the students, protecting them from the assants.


    "Where is Alvin?" Sophia asked as she took deep breaths to calm down.


    Fighting with someone without much mana had taken quite a toll on her body.


    "He is busy with another enemy; he will arrive in a while."


    Sophia nodded her head as she focused back towards the masked man.


    "Let’s finish him quickly." Geilna mumbled as she gathered mana around her.


    As they were about to engage in another battle something clicked inside Sophia’s mind.


    "Wait! Where is the other one!" She shouted as she desperately looked around trying to find the assassin.


    "Sophia!" Geilna’s voice snapped her back to reality as she narrowly dodged the w that was aimed at her thorat.


    As the battle continued, no one could notice a silent figure who was moving closer towards Angelina, his eyes filled with murderous intent.